Washington (CNN) – Republicans in the House of Representatives expressed outrage with one of their compatriots on the other side of the Capitol Wednesday, questioning whether or not Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is really all-in on defunding Obamacare or if he’s trying to put all the onus of defunding the bill on the House.

The House outrage stems directly from a statement from Cruz and fellow GOP stalwarts against Obamacare in the Senate, Marco Rubio and Mike Lee. In it, Cruz said Senate Republicans simply don’t have the votes necessary to keep defunding language in the continuing resolution to fund the government after Oct. 1. Republicans have been attempting to push a bill that would fund the rest of the government while defunding the health care law, a bill Democrats have vowed to fight.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg declined any traditional political label while in Washington stumping for his pro-immigration reform group, saying that rather than Democrat or Republican, "I'm pro-knowledge economy."

The multibillionaire took part in a forum Wednesday with Atlantic magazine editor James Bennet, commenting on his immigration group, FWD.us, along with the future of Facebook and the impact revelations that the U.S. government tracks some American activity online have had on the trust people place in their social media.FULL POST

CNN's GUT CHECK | for September 18, 2013 | 5 p.m. – n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

HEADING TOWARDS A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: House Republican leaders are considering a vote this week on a short-term spending bill to keep the government running and defund Obamacare, according to senior House GOP aides, a move that increases the possibility of a government shutdown. – Deirdre Walsh

REPUBLICANS: “There should be no conversation about shutting the government down. That's not the goal here,” House Speaker John Boehner said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “Our goal here is to cut spending and to protect the American people from Obamacare. It's as simple as that. There are no interests in our part in shutting the government down.”

DEMOCRATS: President Barack Obama Wednesday blamed an "ideological faction" of the Republican Party for the "ideological fight" currently underway in Congress over the budget. "I'm happy to negotiate with them around the budget … What I will not do is to create a habit, a pattern, whereby the full faith and credit of the United States ends up being a bargaining chip to set policy," Obama told the roughly 100 CEOs gathered in Washington. "It's irresponsible."

Washington (CNN) – Two potential contenders for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination weighed in Wednesday on the congressional battle over Obamacare that's now putting a government shutdown at risk.

While former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal agreed the president's health care law is a disaster, they had slightly different comments on House Republicans' refusal to pass an upcoming spending bill unless it kills funds for the president's health care law.FULL POST

(CNN) – The Cold War may have been over for 20 years but opinions of Russia are starting to chill, with a new opinion poll indicating that overall U.S. opinions of Russia and President Vladimir Putin have soured for the first time in 15 years.

According to Gallup, more Americans now perceive Russia as unfriendly to or an enemy of the United States. Half of all Americans see Russia as antithetical to U.S. interests compared to 44% who see Russia as a friend or ally. Americans had shown a favorable rating of Russia since 1999, with 52% considering Russia a friend or ally as recently as June.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - If you needed another signal that Martin O'Malley has 2016 on his mind, then here you go: The Maryland governor announced Wednesday that he'll keynote a major Democratic Party dinner in New Hampshire.

"I want you to be the first to know that I will be joining you on November 16 in Manchester at the 2013 Jefferson Jackson Dinner," said O'Malley as he broke the news in an email to supporters and to Granite State Democrats.

Washington (CNN) - With the clock ticking down toward a possible government shutdown over a bitter partisan battle over the new health care law, both sides appear to be digging in.

In this dangerous game of political chicken, public opinion could be crucial, and right now polls suggest both the White House and congressional Republicans have numbers on their side to bolster their arguments–while more Americans would blame a shutdown and its consequences on Republicans, the president's Affordable Care Act–better known as Obamacare–is becoming less popular.FULL POST

Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley have opposing views on the economy and are doing battle over which state has the better strategy when it comes to jobs and taxes.
The two potential 2016 presidential candidates join hosts